5 Key Factors for Choosing the best MDR Solution Providers

In many ways, identifying malicious traffic is a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. Most of the time, 99.9 percent of traffic is genuine. Yet, it is important to go through the entire traffic to identify the .01 percent of traffic that is malicious in nature. A good Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution does exactly this.

IT security is undoubtedly a highly specialized field that requires specialized technology as well as niche talent with deep subject matter expertise. It can be a bit disconcerting for organizations to expose their data to a third party since there is always the danger of the data getting compromised. Yet, while several organizations may choose to handle it internally, handing the security surveillance over to a third party that specializes in threat detection is often the best option.

Here are the factors to check, while identifying the best MDR Solution Providers:

1. Watertight SLAs

Given that you are handing over your data to a third party for screening, agreeing on a comprehensive SLA is most important. For instance, most of our SLAs with our clients require us to report any suspicious data within 30 minutes, day or night. Instituting stringent penalty clauses that account for any lapses on the part of the solution provider is a great way to ensure that they have their skin in the game.

2. Risk Appetite

As mentioned earlier, the number of malicious logs is usually extremely miniscule. However, the system often throws up a number of false positives, which look malicious, but are not. Taking a stand on these is important because if the MDR flags too many false positives, the effectiveness of the solution is compromised. The IT team cannot possibly devote enough time to evaluate each of the flagged logs. As a result, genuinely malicious content may fly under the radar. Deciding on an optimum approach based on factors such as sensitivity of data is most important.

3. Customization

Each organisation is different and so are their security needs. While selecting an MDR solution provider, ensure that you have the option to customize the solution that you are investing in, so that it meets your unique requirement. Often, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) who offer their services through third party products don’t have the option of customizing the product or solution.

4. Regular Updates

Given that new threats emerge all the time in form of viruses, malware and ransomware, regular updates of your security products is absolutely a must. One word of caution is to discuss the cost impact of these updates beforehand, since they can make your budget planning go awry. At SISA, for example, we upgrade products every eight weeks, and done free of cost.

5. Depth of Expertise

Tracking of malicious traffic is one part of the equation. In addition, making sense of the data in terms of its origin, intent, etc. is the key to prevent future attacks. Therefore, while selecting an MDR solutions provider, expertise in all aspects of security is an important factor to consider. For instance, does the provider have a forensics team in place to analyse the malicious data? These capabilities make a huge difference.

Identifying the right MDR solution provider is essential for ensuring the security of your organization’s data. A good MDR provider has the expertise and trustworthiness to protect your data from cyber threats. However, not all MDR providers are created equal, so it is important to be savvy when choosing one.